"Some people say life is the thing, but I prefer reading"
- Logan Pearsall Smith

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Sunday Poetry - Thomas Hardy

I love Thomas Hardy's poetry. He wrote some of his most passionate yet melancholy love poetry after the death of his first wife, Emma. The regret for the wasted years full of misunderstandings is very moving. If you haven't already read it, I can recommend Claire Tomalin's wonderful biography of Hardy, The Time-Torn Man, which begins with the outpouring of poetry & memory that was prompted by Emma's death. I don't know if this poem, The End of the Episode, is about Emma. It's from a collection published in 1909 & it's full of Hardy's favourite notes of missed opportunities & longing for the past.

Indulge no more may weIn this sweet-bitter pastime:The love-light shines the last timeBetween you, Dear, and me.

There shall remain no traceOf what so closely tied us,And blank as ere love eyed usWill be our meeting-place.

The flowers and thymy air,Will they now miss our coming?The dumbles thin their hummingTo find we haunt not there?

2 comments:

I love Hardy's poetry too Lyn but I didn't know this one. I rather suspect it is not about Emma but some other young lady of which there were many I think. Never mind -- he was a terrific poet (though I know some people can't stand his poetry)/